Wireless notification systems and methods for electronic rodent traps

ABSTRACT

A remote notification electronic rodent trapping system and method is provided having a plurality of rearming electronic rodent trapping devices configured to wirelessly communicate trap information to a base station that is in communication with a cloud server. When a trap is activated by a rodent trigger it changes from a set state to a kill alert state and initiates a killing cycle. The trap waits a first time period and then sends a notification signal to the base station of trap activation which the base station forwards to the cloud server. The cloud server waits a second predetermined time period before sending a pushed notification to a remote user of the trap&#39;s kill alert state. If the trap rearms prior to expiration of the second time period, it alerts the base station which notifies the cloud server. The cloud server updates trap status to the set state and does not send a notification to the user.

This application is a continuation of co-pending prior application Ser.No. 15/668,958 filed Aug. 4, 2017, and issuing as U.S. Pat. No.10,111,416 on Oct. 30, 2018, which is a continuation of application Ser.No. 14/986,353 filed on Dec. 31, 2015, which issued as U.S. Pat. No.9,743,657 on Aug. 29, 2017, which is a continuation-in-part applicationof U.S. Ser. No. 14/866,072, filed on Sep. 25, 2015, which is acontinuation application of U.S. Ser. No. 14/177,561 filed on Feb. 11,2014, which is a continuation-in-part application of U.S. Ser. No.13/626,224, filed on Sep. 25, 2012, the priority of which is herebyclaimed.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION Field of the Invention

The present invention is related to the field of pest control and pesttrap monitoring and, more particularly, to a remote notificationelectronic rodent trapping system and method having electronic rodenttraps with wireless communication capability enabling remote monitoringof trap status.

Description of the Related Art

Rodent trap monitoring has typically required that the user come inclose proximity to the trap to determine whether or not a rodent hasbeen dispatched or the trap deactivated. Physically checking rodenttraps can be inconvenient, particularly when the traps are located in abarn, attic, basement, crawl space, etc. Trap monitoring can also bevery time consuming for users such as professional rodent controlcompanies who place traps at multiple sites and then must physicallyvisit each site on a regular basis to monitor the status of the trapsand ensure traps are in an operational-ready state.

Additionally, when electronic animal traps having high voltage killingmechanisms for pests such as mice and rats are being monitored,activation of a trap does not, in all cases, mean that the trap requiresservicing because the rodent may have avoided electrocution and escaped.Rearming traps such as those disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 6,836,999 arevery beneficial as these traps are able to automatically rearm if,following a killing cycle, the trap detects an impedance indicating thata rodent is not in the trap. However, these traps still require a userto be in physical proximity to the trap in order to observe visualindicators to determine trap activation status.

Therefore, a need exists for a system and method that enables rodenttraps to be monitored remotely, eliminating the costly and timeconsuming task of going on-site to check individual traps to see whetheror not they have been activated. A need also exists for a remotemonitoring and reporting system and method in which electronic trapswith high voltage killing mechanisms that have been activated, butwithout killing a rodent, do not provide the user with a “falsepositive” status notification, i.e., a notification that the trapcontains a dead rodent when, in fact, the trap may have been activatedby an environment condition, such as moisture. It would be furtheradvantageous if traps of this type, following activation and rodentescape, could automatically rearm and continue in an active statewithout the need for any user action, either proximal or remote, whileproviding a remote user with a notification of trap activation statusonly when actually warranted.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

Accordingly, the present invention is directed to a remote notificationelectronic rodent trapping system. The system includes one or moreelectronic rodent trapping devices having wireless communication andnetworking capabilities, and a base station in communication with thetrapping devices to enable the status of the traps to be remotelymonitored.

Each trapping device is equipped with an RF transceiver that enables thetrapping device to wirelessly communicate with the base station.According to one illustrated embodiment, the base station is a PC havinga separate USB transceiver which is attached to the PC and configured toreceive RF transmissions. The PC has a program that exchangesinformation with a website, referred to herein as “the remotenotification website” which is dedicated to operational control of theremote notification electronic rodent trapping system of each user. Thesoftware is transparent to the user, running in the background, and actsto forward information to the remote notification website.

In the first illustrated embodiment, a plurality of trapping devices arein communication with the PC and with each other. Each of the electronicrecent trapping devices includes a control circuit with a module havingan embedded Synapse Network Application Protocol (SNAP®) networkoperating system that enables the device to communicate with the othertrapping devices via the transceiver. The SNAP® operating system,developed by Synapse Wireless®, Inc., of Huntsville, Ala., will bedescribed more fully hereinafter.

The PC, when connected to the Internet, accesses the remote notificationwebsite and exchanges information therewith. Computer devices other thana PC can also be used to access the remote notification website andmonitor the remotely located electronic rodent trap systems.Accordingly, while use of a “PC” is described herein, it is understoodthat this term is intended to include other computing devices such as aMAC, tablet, smart phone, etc., that are capable of accessing theInternet in the manner described herein.

According to the machine-to-machine communication system, the trappingdevices form a peer-to-peer network in which the trapping devicescommunicate with one another and with the PC. The trapping devices, alsoreferred to herein simply as “traps”, also act as repeaters so that ifone trap loses connectivity with the PC, information from that trap canbe transmitted to the PC via another trap. In addition, because thetraps communicate with and through each other, the range over whichtraps may be distributed is increased as traps that are outside therange of direct communication with the base station can communicate withthe base station via one or more intervening traps. The user can monitortrap status, battery life and signal strength by accessing the remotenotification website with the PC. The software running at the remotenotification website is capable of sending email and text notificationto any on-line PC over the Internet, or to any device capable ofreceiving a text message, when trap status has changed.

According to a second illustrated embodiment, the PC can be loaded withSNAP®. Using the SNAP® embodiment, the PC is loaded with software thatcan receive/display information from, and send information to, thetrapping devices. The SNAP® software and related features are disclosedin U.S. Pat. Nos. 7,790,871 and 8,204,971, the disclosures of which arehereby expressly incorporated by reference as if fully set forth intheir entirety.

The trapping devices, according to the SNAP® machine-to-machinecommunication system installed on the PC, form a peer-to-peer network asin the first embodiment in which the trapping devices communicate withone another and with the PC. The user can monitor trap status, batterylife and signal strength directly from the PC. If the PC has Internetconnectivity, the software is capable of sending email and textnotification to another PC or cell phone over the Internet when trapstatus has changed.

According to another embodiment, rather than having the plurality ortraps form a peer-to-peer network in which the trapping devicescommunicate with one another and thereby themselves act as repeaters,the system may be configured such that the traps each reportindependently of the other traps in the system without meshing with oneanother. By eliminating the need for the traps to form a mesharrangement, each trap's battery life is conserved and other benefitsare achieved.

For greater range of coverage, the direct reporting system may beconfigured to include a base station, a plurality of traps and aplurality of separate repeating devices, referred to herein simply as“repeaters”. The base station performs in the same manner as alreadydescribed in connection with the earlier embodiments, communicating trapstatus received from the traps to the remote notification website.However, when one trap receives a message from another trap providingstatus information relating to the transmitting trap, the receiving trapdoes not act upon the status information received. Instead, a firstrepeater within range of the transmitting trap, upon receiving themessage containing trap status information, repeats the message. Otherrepeaters within range of the first repeater receive the message fromthe first repeater and they, in turn, repeat the message. In this way,the range over which a message may be sent is greatly increased as therepeating of messages by a first repeater to one or more adjacentrepeaters spreads the message from the first repeater to a secondrepeater and then to a third repeater, and so on. Multiple repeaters ina row or across the same area will repeat any messages they hear and, ifthe base station is in range of any of the repeaters, the base stationwill forward the trap status information to the remote notificationwebsite. Through the use of repeaters, the size of the system may begreatly increased and, because the traps do not mesh with one another,which requires longer “awake” periods, the battery life of the traps issignificantly increased as will be discussed more fully hereinafter.

The remote notification electronic rodent trapping system according tothe present invention is designed to work effectively with the rearmingelectronic killing traps disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 6,336,999 (“the '999patent’) which is also owned by the assignee of the present inventionand hereby expressly incorporated by reference as if set forth in itsentirety.

When used with the rearming electronic killing traps disclosed in the'999 patent, the traps include a micro-controller chip with a highvoltage circuit for generating and delivering a high-voltage pulse trainto a pair of killing plates. With the circuit in an armed or set state,a killing cycle is triggered when a triggering condition, such as aknown impedance consistent with a rodent, is sensed across the killingplates, placing the trap in a kill alert state. During or uponcompletion of the killing cycle, the trap waits a first predeterminedperiod of time before sending an activation notification of the killalert state to the base station. After the killing cycle, the trap sendan activation notification to the base station indicating that the trapis in the kill alert state and confirms the continued presence of therodent indicating a kill.

The base station, upon receipt of the activation notification, forwardsthe message to a server in the cloud. The cloud server updates the userinterface to indicate that the trap has changed from the set state tothe kill alert state but then waits a second predetermined period oftime before sending an email, text or other notification to a remotelylocated user. If the trap detects that an impedance across the killingplates increases or has increased to that of an open circuit, likelymeaning no rodent is present, the trap automatically rearms itself andsends a rearming notification to the base station that the trap hasreturned to the set state. The base station forwards the notification tothe cloud server which updates a user interface. If the cloud serverreceives the rearming notification from the base station prior toexpiration of the second predetermined time period, the cloud serverupdates the user interface to show that the trap is back in the setstate indicating that the trap has rearmed and does not send an alert tothe remote user. If the cloud server does not receive a notificationfrom the base station indicating the trap has returned to the set statewithin the second predetermined time period, the cloud server sends analert to the remotely located user by email and/or text or other pushnotification to inform the user that the trap likely contains a deadrodent and requires servicing.

In view of the foregoing, one object of the present invention is toprovide a remote notification electronic rodent trapping system withelectronic rodent trapping devices having wireless remote notificationcapability that allows a user to monitor trap status from a remotelocation, eliminating the need for users to be in close proximity to anelectronic rodent trap to determine whether the trap is functional orhas been activated and needs servicing.

Another object of the present invention is to provide a remotenotification electronic rodent trapping system and method thatsimultaneously monitors the status of multiple traps spaced at differentlocations from each other.

Yet another object of the present invention is to provide a remotenotification electronic rodent trapping system in which each electronicrodent trapping device is equipped with an RF transceiver, enabling thetrap to communicate with a separate USB transceiver attached to a user'sPC.

Still another object of the present invention is to provide a remotenotification electronic rodent trapping system in accordance with thepreceding objects in which software installed on the user'sInternet-connected PC transparently forwards data to a remotenotification website through which the user can monitor trap statusincluding battery life and/or signal strength.

A further object of the present invention is to provide a remotenotification electronic rodent trapping system in accordance with thepreceding objects in which trap status may be monitored directly by auser having a smartphone with an appropriate smartphone applicationcapable of accessing information stored at a web server over theInternet.

A yet further object of the present invention is to provide a remotenotification electronic rodent trapping system in accordance with thepreceding objects in which the system is embodied in accordance with oneor more types of “cloud” computing.

A still further object of the present invention is to provide a remotenotification electronic rodent trapping system in accordance with thepreceding objects in which software running at the remote notificationwebsite is capable of sending text and email notifications to a remotelylocated PC, or any device capable of receiving a text message, when trapstatus has changed.

Still a further object of the invention to provide a remote notificationelectronic rodent trapping system in accordance with the precedingobjects in which electronic rodent trapping devices form wireless nodesthat create a mesh network providing machine-to-machine communication.

Still another object of the present invention is to provide a remotenotification electronic rodent trapping system in accordance with thepreceding objects in which the traps act as nodes that communicatewirelessly with one another, automatically auto-forming a peer-to-peernetwork that repairs itself if one of the traps/nodes is removed ordamaged.

Yet another object of the present invention is to provide a remotenotification electronic rodent trapping system according to a secondembodiment in which software is installed on the user's PC that allowsthe user to monitor trap status, battery life and signal strength fromthe PC.

A further object of the present invention is to provide a remotenotification electronic rodent trapping system in accordance with thepreceding object in which the software, when installed on a PC havinginternet connectivity, is capable of sending text and emailnotifications to a remotely located PC or cellular device when trapstatus has changed and/or to log and store trap status changes and makethis information accessible to a user who logs onto the internet and thetrap status website through a user interface.

A still further object of the present invention is to provide a remotenotification electronic rodent trapping system in which the electronicrodent trapping devices are configured to communicate with an Ethernetdevice with internet connection which sends updates to the website,eliminating the need for a PC.

Yet a still further object of the present invention is to provide aremote notification electronic rodent trapping system in which theelectronic rodent trapping devices are configured to communicate with acellular device which sends updates to the website, eliminating the needfor a PC.

Another object of the present invention is to provide a remotenotification electronic rodent trapping system that includes a basestation and a plurality of traps in which the traps do not form a meshwith one another but instead either report directly to the base stationindividually or rely on one or more repeaters for relaying trap statusinformation from the trap to another repeater and/or to the basestation.

Yet another object of the present invention in accordance with thepreceding object is to provide a direct reporting remote notificationelectronic rodent trapping system in which each repeater, upon receivinga message with trap status information, repeats the message so themessage may be effectively transmitted a great distance as a firstrepeater repeats the message which is received by a second repeater, thesecond repeater receives and repeats the message which is, in turn,received by a third repeater which repeats the message, and so on.

A further object of the present invention in accordance with thepreceding two objects is to provide a direct reporting remotenotification electronic rodent trapping system in which the battery lifeof the plurality of traps is increased through elimination of the needfor meshing of the traps since the process of meshing requires longerawake periods than with each trap reporting to the base stationindividually, either directly or through one or more interveningrepeaters spaced between the trap and the base station.

Yet a further object of the present invention in accordance with thepreceding three objects is to provide a direct reporting remotenotification electronic rodent trapping system in which greater range isobtained through the inclusion of repeaters, which are supplied with acontinuous power source and can be used to repeat the trap statusinformation to one another and to the base station as described herein.

A still further object of the present invention in accordance with thepreceding four objects is to provide a direct reporting remotenotification electronic rodent trapping system in which the repeatersare always awake and in which each repeater, upon receipt of a trapstatus message/repeats the message only once.

Yet a still further object of the present invention in accordance withthe preceding five objects is to provide a direct reporting remotenotification electronic rodent trapping system in which the addition ofmore traps to a system does not increase the amount of awake time forany of the traps since the traps do not mesh up with one another butinstead each trap reports its status individually and then goes back tosleep.

Another object of the present invention is to provide a direct reportingremote notification electronic rodent trapping system in accordance withthe preceding six objects in which the system is embodied in accordancewith one or more types of “cloud” computing, and/or is softwareinstalled on the user's Internet-connected PC transparently thatforwards data to a remote notification website through which the usercan log on and monitor trap status through a user interface, or trapstatus may be monitored directly by a user having a smartphone with anappropriate smartphone application capable of accessing informationstored at a web server over the Internet.

Still another object of the present invention is to provide a directreporting remote notification electronic rodent trapping system inaccordance with the preceding seven objects in which software running atthe remote notification website is capable of sending text and emailnotifications to a remotely located PC, or any device capable ofreceiving a text message or email, when trap status has changed.

A further object of the present invention is to provide a directreporting remote notification electronic rodent trapping system inaccordance with the preceding eight objects in which the electronicrodent trapping devices are configured to communicate with an Ethernetdevice having internet connection that sends updates to the website, orwith a cellular device which sends information to/from the website,eliminating the need for a PC.

A still further object of the present invention in accordance with thepreceding objects is to provide a system that includes an over-the-airupdate capability which allows new features, bug corrections or otherupgrades to be loaded to the remote notification website and thendownloaded to the base station and its associated traps upon userrequest.

Another object of the present invention is to provide a remotenotification electronic rodent trapping system operative withelectronically controlled animal traps with high voltage killingmechanisms including two or more killing plate that are able to detectthe absence of a rodent following activation and thereafter to rearmthemselves multiple times without requiring human intervention.

Yet another object of the present invention is to provide a remotenotification electronic rodent trapping system with electronicallycontrolled animal traps in accordance with the preceding object whichhas reduced servicing requirements through automatic rearming in theevent that an absence of rodent impedance across the plates is detectedafter a killing cycle.

A further object of the present invention is to provide a remotenotification electronic rodent trapping system with electronicallycontrolled animal traps in accordance with the preceding two objects inwhich the traps wait a predetermined time period following killingmechanism activation before sending notification to the base stationand, after such time period, sending such notification only if the traphas confirmed an impedance across the plates that is indicative of thecontinued presence or a dead rodent.

Still a further object of the present invention is to provide a remotenotification electronic rodent trapping system with electronicallycontrolled animal traps in accordance with the preceding three objectsin which the base station, after receiving an activation notificationfrom a trap, forwards the notification to a cloud server after which thecloud server waits a predetermined period of time before sending anemail, text or other transmitted alert to a remote user and, if the traprearms and notifies the cloud server via the base station prior toexpiration of that time period of its rearmed status, the cloud serverwill not send an alert to the user regarding the trap's originalactivation notification.

Yet another object of the present invention is to provide a remotenotification electronic rodent trapping system with electronicallycontrolled animal traps in communication with a cloud server thatupdates and stores trap status information and enables a user to trackand/or review this status through a user interface at any time,regardless of whether an actual email or text notification of trapactivation is sent to the user by the cloud server.

These together with other objects and advantages which will becomesubsequently apparent reside in the details of construction andoperation as more fully hereinafter described and claimed, referencebeing had to the accompanying drawings forming a part hereof, whereinlike numerals refer to like parts throughout.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a conceptual schematic of a remote notification electronicrodent trapping system in accordance with a first embodiment of thepresent invention.

FIG. 1A is a conceptual schematic of the use of cloud computing inaccordance with the remote electronic trapping system of the type shownin FIG. 1.

FIG. 2 is a conceptual schematic of a remote notification electronicrodent trapping system in accordance with a second embodiment of thepresent invention.

FIG. 3 is a conceptual schematic of a third embodiment in which theelectronic rodent traps communicate with an Ethernet device havinginternet connection to send updates to a website.

FIG. 4 is a conceptual schematic of a fourth embodiment in which theelectronic rodent traps communicate with a cellular device which sendsinformation to/from a website.

FIG. 5 shows a mesh reporting configuration of multiple traps and a basestation in accordance with the present invention.

FIG. 6 shows a direct individual trap reporting configuration ofmultiple traps and a base station in accordance with an alternativeembodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 7 is an illustration of the addition of repeaters to the directindividual trap reporting system shown in FIG. 6.

FIG. 8 is an illustration of a large individual trap reporting system inaccordance with the present invention, having a plurality of traps and aplurality of repeaters communicating with a base station.

FIG. 9 is a block diagram of a high-voltage, rearming electronic trapimplemented within the remote notification system in accordance with thepresent invention.

FIG. 10 is a flow chart of the operational sequence of the high-voltagerearming electronic trap in conjunction with the remote notificationsystem of the present invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

In describing preferred embodiments of the invention illustrated in thedrawings, specific terminology will be resorted to for the sake ofclarity. However, the invention is not intended to be limited to thespecific terms so selected, and it is to be understood that eachspecific term includes all technical equivalents which operate in asimilar manner to accomplish a similar purpose.

As shown in FIG. 1, the present invention is directed to a remotenotification electronic rodant trapping system generally designated byreference numeral 10. The system includes a plurality of electronicrodent trapping devices 12 and a base station such as PC 14. In additionto the electronic rodent trapping devices disclosed in the '999 patent,the traps may be of the types disclosed in U.S. Pat. Nos. 7,219,466;7,690,147; and 7,757,430, all of which are owned by the assignee of thepresent invention and hereby expressly incorporated by reference as ifset forth in their entirety. Therefore, while the rearming trapsdescribed herein refer to traps having two killing plates, thedescription is also applicable to traps having three (or more) killingplates, including traps with either or both mouse and rat killingcapabilities.

According to the first illustrated embodiment of the present inventionshown in FIG. 1, the plurality of trapping devices and the PC areconfigured to form a network 50 in which each of the traps communicateswith the PC and preferably with other adjacent traps. The PC, whenconnected to the Internet 30, accesses a remote notification website 28that coordinates the monitoring, reporting and control of the rodenttrapping systems. The website is configured to send text messages to thePC 14 or other on-line smart device such as a MAC, tablet, smart phone,etc., as well as to any other device capable of receiving a textmessage. While the system will also work with only one trapping deviceand the base station, many of the capabilities described herein will notbe realized in such a limited configuration. Therefore, the followingdescription will be directed to the illustrated embodiment shown in FIG.1 having a plurality of rodent trapping devices.

Each of the electronic rodent trapping devices 12 has an RF transceiver18 and communicates with the PC 14 that has an RF USB transceiver 20attached thereto to receive transmissions from the trapping devices 12.Each of the electronic rodent trapping devices includes a controlcircuit with a module having an embedded network operating system thatenables the device to communicate with the other trapping devices viathe transceiver 18. In the illustrated embodiment, the embedded networkoperating system is the SNAP® operating system, as will be describedmore fully hereinafter.

The PC 14 is provided with software that initiates forwarding ofinformation to the remote notification website 23. The softwareincorporated within the present invention, including that on the PC andat the website, was developed by Exosite of Minneapolis Minn.

The remote notification website 28, hosted by web server 24 which storesall of the trap status information, enables the user to review thecontent of RF transmissions received by the PC from the traps andthereby monitor trap status including one or more of whether the traphas dispatched a rodent or the trap has been deactivated, the batterylife and the signal strength of each trap on the network.

In use, a plurality of electronic rodent trapping devices 12 are placedin various locations within a network area, such as in and around theuser's home. According to the SNAP® protocol, the trapping devices, whenpowered on, automatically form a mesh network. As part of the meshnetwork, each trapping device communicates with every other trappingdevice that is within range on a peer-to-peer basis. The trappingdevices act as repeaters for signals received from adjoining trappingdevices so that traps that cannot communicate directly with the PC 14due to distance or interference, can nonetheless communicate with the PCthrough one or more neighboring traps. If one of the traps is damaged orremoved, the network is “self-healing” in that those of the remainingtrapping devices that had relied upon the damaged trap as a repeaterwill find new communication pathways to the PC.

The transceivers 18 in the trapping devices can communicate with the PC14 and with other trapping devices 12 in the network that are located upto approximately a quarter of a mile away when outdoors withline-of-sight. Indoor range is dependent on the number of interferingstructures and/or RF signals in the network area. Testing has indicatedthat with standard building construction, the traps have a communicationrange of between about 100 to 250 feet. Again, because of the meshconfiguration of the traps operating with the SNAF® operating systemmodules, traps that are not able to communicate with the base stationdirectly due to interference of some sort can still provide trap statusinformation to the base station by relaying their transmission throughanother trap which acts as a repeater.

To conserve battery life, the trapping devices are preferably configuredto have a sleep state and an active state. The sleep state requires onlylow current, increasing the battery life of the trapping devices. Theactive state is entered at regular intervals during which the trapscommunicate with one another and with the PC. To ensure effectivecommunication, all of the traps are coordinated so that their activestates occur at the same time. The active state is only maintained for aset time period, after which the trapping devices return to the sleepstate. The frequency with which the trapping devices enter the activestate depends upon user requirements and/or preferences. One examplewould be that the trapping devices be set to “wake up” or enter theactive state at two minute intervals. While the traps are in the activestate, they send a transmission to the PC 14 and to the surroundingtrapping devices if a change in trap status is detected.

The user can access the information provided by the trapping devices tothe PC by logging onto the remote notification website 28 with a PC 32or other smart device 34. For example, when a killing cycle has beenperformed in response to activation of the trap by a rodent, the userupon accessing the remote notification website is notified that the traphas been activated and needs to be checked and/or emptied. The remotenotification website is also able to send email messages to the remotePC 32 over the Internet, as well as to any wireless device 33 capable ofreceiving an email message including, but not limited to, a cell phone,a smart phone, a PDA, a tablet, etc. The remote notification website 28can also send text messages to any wireless device 35 capable ofreceiving a text message such as a cell phone, smartphone, pager, etc.Therefore, when certain events occur and are reported to the PC 14, suchas a change in the status of one of the traps 12 including trapactivation indicating a rodent has been dispatched, the PC 14 canforward this information to the web server 24 which makes theinformation available to the remote notification website 28. The website28 then notifies the user by communicating over the Internet 30 to aremotely located PC 32 or other smart computing device 34 through whichthe user has accessed the website 28. When no activity is detected, thetrapping devices enter a sleep node that requires only low current,increasing the battery life of the trapping devices.

When sending text and/or email notification of trap status to a remotecomputing device, the remote notification website 28 identifies one ormore specific traps which are the subject of the notification andincludes at least one of a notice that a particular one of theidentified traps needs to be checked, the particular trap's battery lifeand the particular trap's signal strength. The user is therefore able toavoid unnecessary trap checks and rather to attend to only those trapsrequiring service.

As also shown in FIG. 1, the web server 24 may also be directly accessedby a user having a smartphone 44 with an appropriate smartphoneapplication (“smartphone app”) 48. The smartphone app 48 can access theweb server 24 in the same way that the website 28 accesses the server24. The smartphone app 48 pulls data from the server 24 and displays itto the user via the app 48 in the same way chat the website 28 pullsdata from the server 24 and displays that data to the user via a webpage.

As shown in FIG. 1A, the remote notification electronic rodent trappingsystem may also be embodied in accordance with one or more types ofcloud computing 130 including one or more cloud servers 131 and userinterface 132, in which cloud providers manage the infrastructure andplatforms on which one or more applications run, as would be understoodby persons of ordinary skill in the art.

According to a second embodiment shown in FIG. 2, SNAP® software may beloaded on the PC 14 to enable the PC to communicate trap status data toa smart device such as cell phone 16 that is on the local network 52.The PC, when connected to the Internet 30, is able to send emailmessages to a remote PC 32 or text messages to a cellular device 34 thatis outside the network area. Any device capable of receiving email or atext message, such as wireless devices 33 and 35, may be notified in thesame way. Therefore, when certain events occur and are reported to thePC 14, such as a change in the status of one of the traps 12, the PC 14can notify the user by communicating with the cellular device 16 and/orother remotely located PCs and mobile wireless devices over theInternet. When a trap is activated, indicating a rodent has beendispatched, the trap wakes up and sends a notification to the PC 14immediately.

As an alternative to using a PC 14 as the base station computing device,a plurality of electronic trapping devices 12 configured in accordancewith the present invention may form a mesh network that communicateswith an Ethernet device 22 having internet connection that acts as the“base station” for sending updates to the website, as shown in FIG. 3.Similarly, the trapping devices 12 may communicate with a cellular or“smart” device 26 acting as a “base station” and sending informationto/from the website, thereby eliminating the need for a home PC, asshown in FIG. 4. As used herein, the term “computing device” is intendedin its broadest sense and includes a PC, an Ethernet device and acellular or “smart” device.

In use, the system according to the present invention provides a methodfor remote monitoring of an electronic rodent trapping device from abase station. The method includes providing the electronic trappingdevices with an RF transceiver configured to send RF transmissionscontaining trap status data, and a base station computing deviceconfigured to receive the RF transmissions at a distance from thetrapping device. The electronic rodent trap sends a transmissioncontaining trap status data which is received by the base stationcomputing device. The base station computing device then is able tonotify a user of the trap status data contained in the RF transmissions.

According to the first embodiment, the step of providing notificationcan include having the user log onto a remote notification websitededicated to monitoring and reporting on remote electronic trap networksystems as described herein. Once connected to the website 28, the PCforwards trap information to the web server 24 which stores the trapstatus information. By accessing the website 23, the user can review thetrap status information from a remotely located PC or other smart deviceused to access the website. The step of providing notification can alsobe performed by a user with a smartphone 44 having an appropriatesmartphone app 48 which accesses the web server 24 directly. The remotenotification website and server 24 can also send a text or emailnotification to any remote device capable of receiving text messages(such as cell phones, smartphones, pagers, etc.) or email (such as cellphones, smartphones PDAs, tablets, etc.), and display the trap statusdata on a display of the remote device.

According to the present invention, the method includes providing aplurality of electronic trapping devices, each having an RF transceiverand configured to send RF transmissions containing trap status data tothe base station computing device and preferably to each other. Theplurality of electronic trapping devices auto-form a mesh network inwhich the traps send RF transmissions to the base station eitherdirectly or through another trapping device in the mesh network actingas a repeater.

The formation of a network of wirelessly communicating electronic rodenttrapping devices and a base station as described herein eliminates theneed for the user to physically check each trapping device on a regularbasis in order to determine whether or not each trap is operational,contains a dispatched rodent, etc., a process which is time consumingand costly. With the present invention, the user is able to easilyremain apprised of the status of a plurality of electronic trappingdevices and even to receive trap status information over the Internetusing a PC or cellular device. Further, the machine-to-machinecommunication relied upon in the mesh network created by the presentinvention makes the system very robust so as to be able to continuefunctioning effectively for remote monitoring even if one of the trapsbecomes unavailable.

While the meshing arrangement shown in FIG. 5 provides a very robustsystem, meshing of the traps requires all of the traps to wake up at thesame time, report, and fall asleep at the same time. To ensure there areno collisions while communicating, or that the probability of collisionis very low, the traps need to stay awake a certain length of time. Thislength of time increases as the number of traps increases. Hence, themore traps that are added to the system, the greater the awake periodrequired, and the higher the battery drain on each trap per report.

To conserve battery life, the system of the present invention mayalternatively be configured so that each of the traps 120 in the remotenotification electronic rodent trapping system reports individuallywithout forming a mesh network with the other traps 120, asrepresentatively shown in FIG. 6. Unlike the previous embodiments, theplurality of traps 120 in the direct individual trap reporting system donot form a peer-to-peer network in which the trapping devicescommunicate with one another and thereby themselves act as repeaters. Tothe contrary, the traps do not respond to trap status informationreceived from adjoining traps but operate individually, awaking andtransmitting their status, and then going back to sleep without regardto whether trap status information from another trap was “heard” whilein the awake state. Eliminating the need for the traps 120 to form ameshing arrangement significantly reduces the amount of time the trapsmust be “awake”. More particularly, through the use of individualreporting, each trap must only be “awake” long enough to report and canthen return to its “sleep” mode. Each individual trap may reportdirectly to the base station 140 as shown in FIG. 6, or may reportthrough repeaters as will be described further hereinafter. Traps may beconfigured to wake up and report on a periodic basis. In addition, whena trap is activated, indicating a rodent has been dispatched, the trapwakes up and sends a notification to the PC 14 immediately.

Unless specifically stated herein, all of the capabilities of the meshconfiguration are also available in the direct reporting configuration.Therefore, as in the meshing embodiments, the base station 140 in thedirect reporting system may be one of a plurality of different computingdevices such as, but limited to, a PC, an Ethernet device havinginternet connection, or a cellular or “smart” device which sendsinformation to and from the website. The direct reporting remotenotification electronic rodent trapping system may also be embodied inaccordance with one or more types of “cloud” computing, and/or withsoftware installed on the user's Internet-connected PC that forwardsdata to a remote notification website through which the user can monitortrap status. Trap status may also be monitored directly by a user havinga smart phone with an appropriate smartphone application capable ofaccessing information stored at a web server over the Internet. Thedirect individual trap reporting system may include software running atthe remote notification website that is capable of sending text andemail notifications to a remotely located PC, or any device capable ofreceiving a text message, when trap status has changed.

For large systems such as in commercial spaces, the effectiveness ofdirect individual trap reporting may be further enhanced by addingrepeating devices 60 to the remote notification electronic rodenttrapping system as shown in FIG. 7. The repeating devices greatlyincrease the range over which the remote notification system maycommunicate. As with direct reporting of the traps 120 to the basestation 140, when using repeaters 60 the awake time of the traps doesnot need to be increased as more traps are added to the system becauseneither the traps nor the repeaters mesh up. Instead, the repeaters stayon and each trap simply awakes, reports its status individually, andthen goes back to sleep. As stated previously, the terms “repeatingdevices” or “repeaters” used herein refer to devices that receive amessage and then, in turn, transmit the message received. As usedherein, the phrase “direct reporting” is intended to include both thoseconfigurations in which each trap individually reports trap statusdirectly to the base station and those configurations in which each trapreports trap status individually, but the trap status messagetransmitted by the trap reaches the base station via the re-transmissionof the trap status message by one or more repeaters positioned betweenthe reporting trap and the base station.

Unlike the traps, the repeaters 60, which may include a USB dongle or astand-alone plug-in device, are supplied with a continuous power supply.For example, the dongles may be of the type that may be plugged Into thebase station or powered by a 5V power supply such as a cell phonecharger. The dongle and power supply may be separate or built as asingle device.

In operation, when passing the trap status information to the basestation 140 from a plurality of traps 120 over a greater distance, aplurality of repeating devices 60 are used. One or more first repeatersreceive a message containing trap status information from a trap. Thedesignation “first” is used to denote that the subject repeaters are thefirst to hear a trap's transmission. Upon receipt of the trap message,each of the first repeaters repeats, i.e., retransmits, the message.Other repeaters, referred to as “second repeaters” for ease ofexplanation without denoting any difference in structure from the“first” repeaters, upon hearing the message transmitted by the “first”repeaters, repeat the message themselves. Repeaters out of range fromthe reporting trap, referred to as “third” repeaters for the same easeof explanation, but in range of the “second” repeaters, in turn repeatthe message to reach “fourth” repeaters that are even further away fromthe trap. Through the relay effect of the distributed repeaters 60, thetotal system range over which trap status information may becommunicated is greatly expanded. When, at any time during the ongoingand outwardly spreading repeating process, the base station 140 alsohears the message, the base station forwards the trap status informationto the remote notification website 28 (see FIG. 1).

Because dongles have a continuous power supply, battery life is not anissue for the repeaters. As already noted, repeaters are always awake.When a trap wakes up, the trap communicates to any repeater and/or basestation in range. If a repeater hears the message, whether from the trapor another repeater, the hearing repeater repeats the message. Anyrepeaters which hear the original message or the repeated message willalso repeat. However, a repeater will repeat each message only once, sothat the same message is not repeated twice.

Given that each repeater, upon receiving a message with trap statusinformation, repeats the message, the message may ultimately be repeatedby a large number of repeaters. With each repetition, the message movesfurther from the originally transmitting trap, enabling the message tobe effectively transmitted a great distance. For example, as a firstrepeater repeats the message which is received by a second repeater, thesecond repeater receives and repeats the message. The repeated messageis, in turn, received by a third repeater which repeats the message, andso on.

FIG. 8 is representative of a large commercial direct reportingelectronic trap system, generally designated by reference numeral 200,in accordance with the present invention. The system includes a basestation 140; a plurality of repeaters 60 a, 60 b, 60 c, 60 d and 60 e;and a plurality of traps 120, 120 a, 120 b, 120 c, 120 d and 120 e. Theplurality of traps in the immediate range of the base station 140 aredesignated by reference numeral 120. The plurality of traps within rangeof repeater 60 a are designated by reference numeral 120 a, theplurality of traps within range of repeater 60 b are designated byreference numeral 120 b, the plurality of traps within range of repeater60 c are designated by reference numeral 120 c, the plurality of trapswithin range of repeater 60 d are designated by reference numeral 120 d,and the plurality of traps within range of repeater 60 e are designatedby reference numeral 120 e.

Traps 120 communicate directly with the base station 140 without need ofa repeater. Whether or not repeaters 60 a, 60 b, 60 c, 60 d or 60 e aredesignated “first” repeaters, “second” repeaters, “third” repeaters,etc. is determined on the basis of the trap currently reporting. Forexample, if one of traps 120 c reports, then repeater 60 c is a “first”repeater, being the first to receive the message from the trap 120 c.Repeater 60 c repeats the message upon receipt, with the message, inturn, being received and repeated by repeater 60 b, repeater 60 b actingas a “second” repeater. Repeater 60 b repeats the message which is thenreceived by repeater 60 a, with repeater 60 a in this example acting asa “third” repeater. When repeater 60 a repeats the message, the messageis then received by the base station 140.

If one of traps 120 b reports, then repeater 60 b is a “first” repeater,being the first to receive the message from the trap 120 b. Repeater 60b repeats the message upon receipt, with the message, in turn, beingreceived and repeated by repeater 60 a, repeater 60 a acting as a“second” repeater. The message sent from second repeater 60 a will thenbe received by the base station 140.

In the above example, when first repeater 60 b repeats the message fromtrap 120 b, repeater 60 c will also receive the repeated message andwill repeat the same. Hence, in this case repeater 60 b will receive thesame message twice—the first time from trap 120 b and the second timefrom repeater 60 c when repeater 60 c repeats the message it receivedfrom repeater 60 b. Repeater 60 b will recognize that the messagereceived from repeater 60 c is the same message as that already receivedfrom trap 120 b and repeated in response thereto. Therefore, repeater 60b will not repeat the same message again.

In a similar manner, if one of traps 120 a reports, then repeater 60 ais a “first” repeater, being the first to receive the message from thetrap 120 a. The base station 140 will receive the message when repeatedby repeater 60 a.

As in the previous example, when first repeater 60 a repeats the messagefrom trap 120 a, repeater 60 b will also receive the repeated messageand will repeat the same. Hence, in this case repeater 60 a will receivethe same message twice—the first time from trap 120 a and the secondtime from repeater 60 b. Repeater 60 a will recognize chat the messagereceived from repeater 60 b is the same message as that already receivedfrom trap 120 a and repeated. Therefore, repeater 60 a will not repeatthe same message again. In addition, when repeater 60 b, acting as a“second” repeater, repeats the message received from repeater 60 a,repeater 60 c will also receive that message and repeat the same. Themessage repeated by repeater 60 c will to received by repeater 60 b, butrepeater 60 b will not repeat the message a second time, recognizingthat the message received from repeater 60 c is the same message as thatalready received from repeater 60 a and already repeated in response tothereto.

The same operation occurs with repeaters 60 d and 60 e, repeater 60 ebeing a “first” repeater and repeater 60 d being a “second” repeater fortraps 120 e, and repeater 60 d being a “first” repeater for traps 120 d.When repeater 60 d repeats a message received from one of traps 120 d,repeater 60 e will hear and repeat but repeater 60 d, upon receiving themessage from repeater 60 e, will not repeat the same message a secondtime.

In the same way, should the base station 140 receive the same messagemore than once, the base station 140 will recognize the redundancy andwill ignore all duplicative messages received after the first receipt ofa given message.

By adding repeaters and traps, the system shown in FIG. 3 may beenlarged to include as many as 100 traps and possibly more, allreporting to a single base station 140.

The present invention also includes an over-the-air update capabilitywhich allows new features, bug corrections or other trap upgrades to beloaded to the remote notification website. Once loaded on the website, auser's portal or internet interface will show that an update isavailable. By the user pressing a button, or using another inputmechanism, the next time a trap reports its status to the base station,the update will be loaded to the trap. The over-the-air update featuremay be used in conjunction with both the trap mesh network embodimentsand the direct individual trap reporting embodiments of the presentinvention.

FIG. 9 depicts a block diagram of the system of the present inventionwith an electronic trap 12 having rearming capability substantially asdisclosed in the '999 patent with modifications to work with the remotemonitoring system of the present invention. The rearming circuitincludes a high-voltage output circuit 402 controlled by an integratedcentral processing unit/radio frequency (CPU/RF) module 404 electricallyconnected to a power supply 406. A first electrical connection member408, which may be embodied as a wire, receives current from thehigh-voltage output circuit 402 and also connects to a first plate 410so that electricity can be provided thereto. A second electricalconnection member 412, which may also be a wire, connects thehigh-voltage output circuit 402 to a second plate 414. The circuit isactivated by a switch 416 accessible from the exterior of the trap andadjacent an LED 418 which provides a user who may be in physicalproximity to the trap with a visual indicator of trap operating status.The CPU/RF module 404 also includes components (not shown) that enablethe module to send alerts and/or notifications as RF transmissions 15 tothe base station 14 for remote reporting of trap operating status in themanner described herein.

When contacted by a trap that an activation has occurred and the traphas entered the kill alert state, the base station 14 forwards the trapactivation notification to the cloud server 131 in the cloud 130. Thecloud is connected to any one or more of wireless devices 33, websites23, smart phone apps 48, PCs 32, smart phones 44 and other userinterfaces 112. While specific types of interfaces are shown in FIG. 9in addition to the user interface 132, it is understood that the userinterface 132 is intended to include both these and other devices thatcan communicate with the cloud by logging onto the cloud server.Therefore, when the user interface 132 is referred to, it is understoodto be a term that includes all of the specific interfaces shown as wellas any others designed for network communication over the internet orthrough cloud computing.

The operation of the rearming trap when incorporated within the presentinvention is set forth in FIG. 10. To commence operation of the trap,the trap is turned on to place the trap into an enabled condition or theset state, step 300. Upon entry into the set state, the LED 418 at thetrap 12 flashes green once, step 302, and then turns off. Thehigh-voltage output circuit 402 detects the battery status and, if thebattery power is low, step 304, the LED flashes red one or more times,step 306, as a visual indicator to a user who may be in the proximitythat the batteries should be replaced. If the battery power is low, thetrap also sends a signal to the base station 14 which forwards thesignal to the cloud server 131, step 318. The cloud server then notifiesthe user, usually by a pushed notification such as text or email, of thelow battery power status, step 320. Upon conclusion of the red LEDflashing procedure and notification to the base station of the batterypower, if the power is found to be sufficient for trap operation, step304, the trap remains in the enabled condition in the standby mode orset state, step 308.

When a triggering condition is detected, such as an impedance across theplates that is consistent with the presence of a rodent, step 310, thecircuit 402 is automatically triggered or activated and completes akilling cycle, step 312. During and/or after the killing cycle the trapwaits a first time period before sending a transmission to the basestation, which the base station forwards to the cloud server, that thetrap has entered the kill alert state, step 312. The first time periodis dependent on the type of trap. An electronic trap designed for micewaits between 10 and 60 seconds, and preferably between about 20 and 30seconds before checking whether a kill has been confirmed, step 508. Anelectronic rat trap waits between about 45 seconds and 3 minutes, andpreferably between about 90 seconds and about 150 seconds beforechecking whether a kill has been confirmed, step 508. The first timeperiod may be the same as the duration of the killing cycle or mayinclude an additional time period after completion of the killing cyclebefore the trap sends the RF transmission to the base station indicatingchange in state from the set to the kill alert state.

At the end of the killing cycle, step 312, current to the plates isterminated, and the battery level is checked, step 314. As before, ifthe battery power is low, step 314, the LED flashes red one or moretimes, step 316, as a visual indicator to a user is proximity to thetrap that the batteries should be replaced. If the battery power is low,the trap also sends a signal to the base station 14 which forwards thesignal to the cloud server, step 318. The cloud server then notifies theuser of the low battery power status, step 320.

Upon conclusion of the red LED flashing procedure and notification tothe base station, if the battery power, while low, is found to besufficient for trap operation, step 314, the trap checks for thecontinued existence of the target impedance across the places to confirma kill, step 503. If such impendence is not detected, indicating thetrap may have been activated by an environmental condition such asmoisture, the trap rearms, step 510, and returns to the active standbymode or set state, step 308. The trap also sends an RF transmission tothe base station indicating return of the trap to the set state and thebase station forwards the rearmed status of the trap to the cloudserver, step 516.

If resistance is still detected after the first time period indicatingthe likelihood that a dead rodent is present, step 508, the trap LEDflashes one or more times to visually indicate that the trap is in thekill alert state to any user who may be in proximity of the trap, step512. The green flashing of the LED may continue until the user servicesthe trap or for a set period of time.

Upon receipt by the cloud server of the activation notice indicatingthat the trap has completed a killing cycle and is in the kill alertstate, the cloud server updates the user interface to indicate that thetrap has gone from the set state to the kill alert state and then waitsa second predetermined period of time before sending an email, text orother pushed notification to a remotely located user, step 514. If,after sending the trap activation notice to the base station, step 312,the impedance across the killing plates of the trap increases toindicate an open circuit, likely meaning no rodent is present, step 508,the trap automatically rearms, step 510, and returns to the set state orstandby mode, step 308. The trap also sends a signal to the base stationindicating return to the set state which the base station forwards tothe cloud server, step 516. If the second predetermined time period hasnot expired, step 518, the cloud server updates the user interface toindicate that the trap has returned to the set state and no alertnotification is sent to the remote user, step 520. The second timeperiod may be of various lengths depending on system design to be only afew hours, such as 6-8 hours, or as many as 48 hours. While a longertime period could be used, it is not preferable for the second timeperiod to be longer than 48 hours as it is generally desired to servicethe traps with some degree of promptness. A shorter period of time mayalso be used but may result in an increase in user notifications thatmay prove to have been unnecessary due to subsequent trap rearming thatoccurs within a relatively short time after activation. The length ofthe time period may also be different for different traps, being setaccording to the trap's intended location, environmental conditions atthe intended location, the user's preferences with respect to howfrequently the traps are to be checked, or other factors.

If the cloud server does not receive a rearming notification from thetrap Indicating return of the trap to the set state within the secondpredetermined time period and the time period expires, step 522, thecloud server sends an alert to the remotely located user that the traplikely contains a dead rodent and requires servicing, step 524. Thisalert is typically sent by a pushed notification such as text and/oremail and the like. If the cloud server receives notification from thebase station that the trap has rearmed after the second time period hasexpired, step 518, the cloud server updates the user interface toindicate the trap has returned to the set state. However, since thesecond time period has expired, the cloud server will have already senta notice to the user, step 524.

Updating of the user interface by the cloud server upon receipt ofnotification from the base station creates a trap state data history andallows the user to obtain information on trap state and changes thereinby logging onto the user interface 132 where the information isavailable and can be reviewed. The second time period delay beforesending of a pushed notification avoids burdening the user with whatcould prove to be unnecessary text and email notifications if the traprearms prior to expiration of the second time period. In any case,whether a notification is eventually sent or not, the user can reviewtrap set and trap kill alert state changes that have occurred over apast time period by logging into the user interface for the cloudserver.

When implemented with the present monitoring system, the electronicrodent traps are preferably configured so that the number of times thetraps can become activated and then rearm is not limited, except by atrap operational condition that prevents rearming. Hence, traps in thefield that are in communication with the monitoring system willrepeatedly rearm following activation, provided the check performedfollowing activation detects an impedance indicating the absence of adead rodent in the trap.

Accordingly, the present invention has been described with some degreeof particularity directed to the exemplary embodiments of the presentinvention. It should be appreciated, though, that the present inventionis defined by the following claims construed in light of the prior artso that modifications or changes may be made to the exemplaryembodiments of the present invention without departing from theinventive concepts contained herein.

1-20. (canceled)
 21. A remote notification electronic rodent trappingsystem that enables a user with a computing or other smart device tomonitor status of a trapping device without having to be in physicalproximity to the trap comprising: at least one electronic rodenttrapping device having a transceiver configured to send an alertnotification as transmission following activation of the electronicrodent trapping device, said trap waiting a delay period afteractivation before sending the alert notification and confirming apresence or absence of a rodent after trap activation; a base station incommunication with said trapping device; and a server in communicationwith said base station, said base station being configured to receivesaid transmission indicating trap activation and to forward anactivation notification to the server of a change in trap state.
 22. Theremote notification electronic rodent, trapping system as set forth inclaim 21, wherein said electronic rodent trapping device includes ahigh-voltage output circuit with at least two plates, activation of saidtrap including completion of a killing cycle.
 23. The remotenotification electronic rodent, trapping system as set forth in claim22, wherein said electronic rodent trapping device automatically rearmsafter confirming absence of a rodent after the killing cycle.
 24. Theremote notification electronic rodent trapping system as set forth inclaim 23, wherein said delay period corresponds with a length of thekilling cycle.
 25. The remote notification electronic rodent trappingsystem as set forth in claim 21, wherein said delay period is longerthan the killing cycle.
 26. The remote notification electronic rodent,trapping system as set forth in claim 21, wherein said server stores atrap state data history that is accessible to the user, said trap statedata history including the activation notification.
 27. The remotenotification electronic rodent, trapping system as set forth in claim21, wherein said system includes a plurality of electronic rodenttrapping devices configured to send transmissions containing trap statusdata to the base station.
 28. The remote notification electronic rodenttrapping systems as set forth in claim 21, wherein said delay period isbetween about 10 and 150 seconds.
 29. The remote notification electronicrodent trapping system as set forth in claim 21, wherein the server,upon receipt of the activation notification, updates a user interface toindicate the change in trap state and then waits until a predeterminedtime period has expired before sending an update not to the user'scomputing or other smart device regarding the state of the trap.
 30. Amethod of remotely monitoring an electronic rodent trapping device by auser, the trapping device having an RF transceiver, a base station incommunication with said trapping device, and a server in communicationwith said base station and having a user interface, the methodcomprising: placing said trapping device in a set state; initiating, bysaid trap in response to a triggering condition, an activation period;waiting, by the trap, a predetermined time period and then sending an RFtransmission with an activation notification to said base stationindicating the trap to be in an activated state; forwarding, by saidbase station, said activation notification to said server; and storing,by said server, a trap state data history that is accessible to theuser, said trap state data history including the trap's activationnotification history.
 31. The method as set forth in claim 30, whereinsaid trap includes a high voltage output circuit with at least twoplates, said step of initiating an activation period includingoutputting high-voltage to the two plates for a killing cycle, saidactivated state being a kill alert state.
 32. The method as set forth inclaim 31, further comprising the steps of: determining, by said trapafter the killing cycle, whether impedance across the plates isconsistent with rodent presence and, if so, remaining in the kill alertstate and not rearming; and upon determining, by the trap, that theimpedance across the plates indicates an absence of rodent presence,said trap rearming and notifying the base station that the trap hasreturned to the set state.
 33. The method as set forth in claim 32,further comprising the steps of: said base station forwarding the trapnotification of return to the set state to the server; and said serveradding the change in trap state back to the set state to the trap statedata history.
 34. The method is set forth in claim 33, furthercomprising the step of said server, upon receipt of the activationnotification from the base station and after waiting a secondpredetermined time period, sending an update notification to the user'scomputing or other smart device of the trap's kill alert state.
 35. Themethod is set forth in claim 34, wherein said step of said serversending the update notification includes sending at least one of a textand an email.
 36. The method as set forth in claim 30, wherein thepredetermined time period is between about 10 and 60 seconds for mice.37. The method as set forth in claim 30, wherein the predetermined timeperiod is between about 90 and 150 seconds for rats.
 38. The method asset forth in claim 30, further comprising the user reviewing the trapstate data history by logging onto the server using the user interface.